I am in the process of re-reading ‘The Secret Life of Nature’ by Peter Tomkins, which was published in 1997 and which I first read probably in the early 1980’s. This was a follow on book to his ‘The Secret Life of Plants’ published in the 1970’s.

‘The Secret Life of Nature’ is about living in harmony with the hidden world of Nature Spirits, from Fairies to Quarks and is an interesting mix of what many would consider fantasy (fairies, gnomes, elves etc.) and modern science – psychics versus physics. It relates evidence for the unseen world of Nature Spirits as seen by clairvoyants. These spirits function all around us to produce the beauty of nature as we know it. They can be seen flitting around plants and trees, helping them grow, but not just at ground level, many of these beings are also found in the wind and the waves. Sadly I have never seen them myself but have long accepted that such things exists. Whether you consider it spiritually or scientifically, to me it is undeniable that there is an ‘essence’, a ‘spark’ of life that ensures a tulip is just that and not a holly bush. That things are what they are is due to an obvious blue-print and that they thrive is due to that essence of life pulsing through them – the life-force.

The book demonstrates how closely the observations of these clairvoyants now concurs with the findings of modern science regarding nature and way the universe works, the building blocks of matter, although they were at first streets ahead and ridiculed by the scientific community. I was absolutely knocked out the first time I read the book but over the years normal life got in the way and much of what I read was lost into the subconscious. Now I have rediscovered this amazing work and am knocked out anew. It makes you look at the world in a whole different light and anyone who takes these findings on board cannot but be amazed by the beauty of nature and the need to conserve this marvellous planet on which we live.

This also gives me a dilemma; whether you visualize these Nature Spirits as fairy creatures or just think of them merely in scientific terms as bursts of energy, where do we stand when caring for our gardens and countryside? What are we destroying when we mow our lawns, dig up our weeds, prune our trees? Have we any right to destroy what the life energy is creating in this way? But what is the alternative – do we allow our gardens to become rampant? How exactly do we find the compromise and work with these spirits to the mutual benefit of all?

So much of our countryside is ‘tamed’, yet it seems these spirits are still more than happy to work with what is there, but is it perhaps time we began to cover less of our towns with concrete and allow more room for nature – even if it is ‘tamed’. Maybe the old idea of ‘Garden Cities’ is not such a bad idea after all. Meanwhile I am still looking for those elusive spirits, but even now the world of nature has become a much brighter and more vivid reality. Somewhere I have a book about the Findhorn Community – I have read it twice already but may it is time I read that again too.